Inline encryption of packet data in a wireless communication system

A method comprising:

• generating, by a microprocessor, respective transmission headers for packets of application data in a second memory to be wirelessly transmitted;
• storing the transmission headers in a first memory;
• transferring, by a direct access memory (DMA) controller programmed by the microprocessor, the packets of the application data from the second memory to the first memory via an encryption engine in-line between the DMA controller and the first memory;
• receiving, by the encryption engine, the packets of the application data;
• encrypting, by the encryption engine, the packets to generate encrypted application data packets;
• outputting, by the encryption engine, the encrypted application data packets for storage to the first memory at respective storage locations for payloads of the transmission headers;
• and
• wirelessly transmitting transmission packets, by a wireless transceiver, each of the transmission packets comprising one of the transmission headers and one of the encrypted application data packets.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by a microprocessor of a wireless communication system, cause the microprocessor to:

• generate for storage in a first memory respective transmission headers for packets of application data in a second memory to be wirelessly transmitted;
• program a direct access memory (DMA) controller to transfer the packets of the application data from the second memory to the first memory via an encryption engine in-line between the DMA controller and the first memory,
• wherein the encryption engine is configured to receive the packets of the application data, encrypt the packets to generate encrypted application data packets, and output the encrypted application data packets for storage to the first memory at respective storage locations for payloads of the transmission headers;
• and
• move the transmission packets from the locations in the first memory to a transmission buffer to be transmitted by a wireless transceiver, each transmission packet comprising one of the transmission headers and one of the encrypted application data packets.